


Hotline Call

by 111000111



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: And He Knows It, Angst, Angst and Feels, Broken Promises, Depression, Have i mentioned angst, He fucked up big time, Hotline Calls, Hurt, Kagami fucked up, Kuroko is precious, Last Game - Freeform, Last Game Continuation, M/M, Suicide, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 09:45:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11205474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/111000111/pseuds/111000111
Summary: With trembling fingers, acutely aware of the cold sweat trickling down his back and his short gasps for breath, he types several numbers into his phone. Pressing the device to his ear, he quivers, biting his lower lip harshly till he draws blood, the aching sensation in his throat growing stronger.The line picks up."It's ... it's Kuroko Tetsuya again."





	1. Blue

Kuroko hangs up, releasing a heavy sigh as he tosses his phone across onto his bed. He slides a hand down his face, slumping down on the bedroom floor.

He gazes off into nothing, blue eyes glazed.

It has been a year since Kagami had left for America after the match of Vorpal Swords against Jabberwock.

The tag team of light and shadow had kept in close contact the first few months, but then the calls had become less frequent. After a few more months, any contact they'd had simply vanished.

Then, a month ago, Kagami called unexpectedly. It was about 2am in Tokyo, but Kuroko scrambled to pick up. It was a Skype video, and when Kuroko's eyes scanned Kagami's room, he spotted a blonde haired, blue eyed teenage girl lounging on his bed, wearing nothing more than underwear. When she called for Kagami, the red-haired male had hesitated, before muting the microphone and shouting a few words back to her.

But Kuroko immediately recognised the words forming on his lips.

Lips he knew the warmth of, the sweet taste of.

_Sorry, babe. Talking to... just a friend from Japan. I'll join you in a sec, alright?_

Kuroko's heart splintered; shattered into fragments, simply disappearing into the shadows he was always meant to stay in.

He muttered out an excuse, and hung up as soon as possible, answering with curt, sharp sentences.

And when the call ended, Kuroko gently shut the laptop, before walking to his bed in a daze.

Was he... simply replaceable? What about the relationship Kagami and Kuroko had shared? What about the promises they'd made?

_I won't leave you, Kuroko._

_Replaceable? Like hell you are!_

"What about the promises we'd made..?" Kuroko whispered to himself, hardly aware of the cool tears spilling out from his eyes.

Indeed, Kuroko was replaceable. How many times did he have to be left to finally learn that lesson?

_Aomine._

_Midorima._

_Murasakibara._

_Kise._

_Akashi._

_And now Kagami._

He didn't matter to anyone, did he? Kuroko shook his head;  _no, he didn't._

From that point on, Kuroko spiralled into a pit of emptiness.

So when the phone rings again, he's jerked out of his reverie with a shock. He gasps a little quietly, when he sees the bold name flashing on the screen.

**Kagami Taiga.**

The phone buzzes impatiently, a GRANRODEO song playing loudly - Kuroko'd set that ringtone for Kagami after the red-haired male had mentioned it was his favourite song.

But Kuroko is stunned, a strangling sensation in his throat, tightening, tightening, he can't breathe -

His hand flashes out and slides the receiver before the other party can hang up, and he subconsciously brings the mobile phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Kuroko?" A gruff, familiar voice announces loudly.

Familiar..? Anything that was familiar had left him. The senpai had left him. His Teiko teammates had left him.  _Kagami had left him._

".. Kagami-san? Aren't you... in America? Isn't it 3am there?" Kuroko's eyes flick to the small clock he kept in the corner of his room. He'd set it to American time so that he'd know Kagami's schedules without having to bother and ask too much.

A small sharp intake of breath came over the speaker. Kagami had noticed the honourific change, Kuroko supposes. He'd never called Kagami 'Kagami-san' before, always sticking to the '-kun' honourific.

"W - well, that's the thing. I'm in Japan now," Kagami mumbles into the receiver, voice, perhaps, just a tad bit uneasy.

"What?" Kuroko's voice comes out harsher and louder than the phantom sixth man had intended, as he scrambles to his feet. "Where are you?"

The red-haired male on the other side of the line audibly breathes out.

"Open your door, Kuroko."

The pale basketball player's eyes widen, as he runs out of his room, before hastily unlocking the door.

"... Hey." The voice comes in two different directions. One from the speaker of Kuroko's phone; one from right in front of him.

"Kagami...-san," Kuroko hardly dared to believe his eyes. Hadn't the red-haired male left him? What was he doing here, back in Japan, in front of his house?

"What are you doing here? What about your girlfriend?" Kuroko spits questions out at Kagami. He hadn't intended the second one to slip out, but now that it had, he couldn't take it back. So Kuroko coldly stares at Kagami, waiting for a response.

"How did you - never mind. She's back in America. I'm here only for a few days, to collect some stuff," Kagami originally asks, before changing his mind, deciding not to.

"I see. And you found that visiting me was important?" Kuroko asks, barely managing to keep his voice distant.

_WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?_

"Uh, yeah. Of course?"

_DIDN'T WE PROMISE TO NEVER LEAVE EACH OTHER?_

"Did you, perhaps, ever consider that you arriving unannounced is something I'd be _troubled_  by?" Kuroko finally says. Obviously, Kagami hadn't thought about it, judging from his widening eyes and hesitation.

"... Come in," Kuroko decides to treat Kagami as nothing more than a distant friend. He coolly opens the door, hyper-aware of the uncertain glance the red-haired male sends him as he enters.

"I'll cook. Hamburger steak, was it?" Kuroko recalls an old conversation where Kagami had enthusiastically talked about his favourite food.

Clearly, Kagami hadn't expected Kuroko to remember that, as he shifts a bit nervously.

"Y - yeah. And you like... vanilla milkshakes," Kagami hesitates a bit before remembering Kuroko's favourite food.

"I'm impressed you remembered," Kuroko flatly comments, preparing the ingredients, face a blank mask, betraying no emotions.

This is what he's best at. Showing no emotions.

Silence reigns supreme, before Kuroko finishes cooking. He slides the plate of steaming hot hamburger steak in front of Kagami, quietly placing utensils in front of the uncomfortable alpha male.

"Please eat. I'll be up in my room if you need me," Kuroko instructs Kagami, emotionless mask firmly in place.

If he shows any more emotions, everyone would leave.

_Kagami would leave again._

Kuroko retreats into his bedroom and quietly shut the door.

He can't take this anymore. He can't handle this sort of stress, not with Kagami in the house, in such close proximity to him.

He slides down to the ground , clutching his head as a storm of emotions raged in him.

_Why did he come back?_

_Why did he come to me?_

Kuroko lets out a quiet whimper, fingers scratching at his face, as if to bring him back to harsh reality. The anger, sadness and confusion was mixing into one large ball of untamed emotion - terror, slamming into him and crushing his throat under the immense pressure it exerted on his very being.

His hand reaches out, grabbing his only lifeline.

With trembling fingers, acutely aware of the cold sweat trickling down his back and his short gasps for breath, he types several numbers into his phone. Pressing the device to his ear, he quivers, biting his lower lip harshly till he draws blood, the aching sensation in his throat growing stronger.

The line picks up.

"It's ... it's Kuroko Tetsuya again."

\---

"Hey, who were you calling just now, Kuroko?" Kagami asks mildly, placing his dishes into the dishwasher.

Kuroko jerks back in fear, "D - did you hear anything, Kagami-san?" His heart pounds, stars swimming in his vision.

"Uh..." Kagami turns around. "Not really..?"

"I didn't call anyone, specifically," Kuroko lies between his teeth, hands gripping the marble countertop of the kitchen island unsteadily, legs wobbling.

_Please don't let him find out._

"What, you have a girlfriend - " Kagami begins, before Kuroko snaps loudly, " _No!_ "

The red-haired male is silenced, before he sighs, "Look, I don't know what your problem is, Kuroko. I really don't understand you."

Kuroko's eyes widen in - he doesn't know what sort of emotion this is -, a sudden sensation overwhelming his very being to the core.

_Kagami... didn't understand him..?_

From the corner of his eye, he sees Kagami snatching up his phone and stormily redialling the most recent number.

The line rings for a few seconds, before picking up.

_No_ , Kuroko barely thinks, a blurry haze enveloping his vision, breaths coming in and out faster than any other time.

" _Hello, Suicide Prevention Hotline. Kuroko-san?_ "


	2. Red

Kagami whips his head around to stare at Kuroko speechlessly, before Kuroko finds barely sufficient strength to snatch the phone away.

"I - It's nothing. I'm sorry," Kuroko breathlessly pants into the receiver, hanging up and clutching his phone. His grips tightens ever-so-slightly on the beeping device in his hand, slowly bringing it down away from his ear.

Kagami stares in shock, wordlessly, at Kuroko.

The pale boy's skin drains of all colour, leaving him with an unhealthy pallor.

"Get out, _Kagami._ " Kuroko drops the honourifics completely, voice coming out trembling and frail, mouth bared into a weak snarl.

Kagami blinks in pure shock. "W - what?! No! I can't leave you now - "

Kuroko barks a short, dry, humourless laugh at Kagami. "You've already left me. You should be able to easily leave again this time, Kagami. _Get out!_ " Kuroko snaps at his former light. His voice loudens and judging from Kagami's flinch, clearly expressed the frigid anger behind Kuroko's stony mask.

"I - " Kagami, unable to say anything to that, lowers his head.

Kuroko's haunting gaze bores bullet holes into Kagami's back as the red-haired male lets himself out of the house.

The moment the door closes, the depressed, suicidal boy collapses to the ground, fingers clawing at his eyes, scratching at his face. His pale fingers come away with bright red splotches of blood, face left with streaks of crimson liquid and red lines down his visage. His shoulders heave as dry sobs wrack his body.

_Why did Kagami have to come?_

_To him, of all people?_

_Shouldn't he have known that Kuroko, of all people, was the one who didn't want to see him the most?_

Kuroko's throat clenches up, as he grips the countertop and attempts to get up. His legs, still quivering, give way under him, and he crumples down, head jerking back sharply and striking against the edge of the marble countertop.

And yet, the physical pain hardly served to dull the mental attack assuaging him.

Warm liquid, feeling like boiling water, trails down Kuroko's bloodied cheeks, as he lets loose a low, keening wail, voice gradually getting louder. Within seconds, he's screaming.  _Screaming for those who'd left him. Screaming for all the times he'd kept a stony mask on. Screaming for Kagami._

Kuroko clambers onto his feet messily, drunkenly. His legs tremble under him, taking him a few seconds just to simply take another step, _forward_. His red-stained hands shake, a perfect symbol of his shattered mentality.

He staggers, limping to his room, before he whimpers, legs giving out. He continues, continues _forward_ , hands dragging his limp body to his room, leaving a trail, streaks of dulling blood leading to his bedroom.

And when he reaches his small haven, he whips his head around, vision blurring with red, red dripping down from where his fingers had left his face earlier. His breath catches in his throat as he struggles to inhale and exhale. His gaze swings around, full of despair and misery, like a wounded and caged animal.

 _This... doesn't seem like a haven anymore,_ , Kuroko thinks to himself hazily, a bitter, iron-laced taste at the back of his throat. He open his mouth to gasp for breath, barely noticing the taste of blood from him biting his lips too hard.

He sits on the floor, leaning against his bed post, chest heaving as he coughs, frame quivering like a leaf in the wind. His mind whirls into a haze of darkness, no more light to guide him to safety and to solace.

_What's the point anymore?_

_Kagami-kun already knows that I'm a terrible person._

_I don't deserve to live._

More tears leak out from the shuddering boy's shut blue eyes. His hand tightens, before he brings it up to his other hand.

He makes a quick slicing motion across.

Kuroko inhales sharply.

Crimson blood gushes out of the long slice across his pale, milky wrist.

The blood-stained knife drops to the parquet floor with a clatter.

Kuroko stares blankly at the red liquid flowing out of him at a rapid, alarming pace, mind fogging over.

 __ _Bright, bright red liquid_ , he thinks blurrily, the rest of his body hitting the floor.

_Bright, bright red._

_Just like Kagami._

Bright, bright red.

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko whispers, eyes barely open.

Then the light within the broken boy's eyes die out.

His heart stills, stopping for eternity.

The red surrounds him, enveloping him in a warm embrace, that he's no longer there for.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, and thank you for reading this fic! This is my second work here on AO3 and my first one concerning Kuroko no Basuke, so I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I've been a long time fan of Kuroko no Basuke, and recently went to watch Last Game: The Movie. After watching it, this idea has been stewing in my head for quite a long time now, so I finally decided to work on it.
> 
> I originally only intended for it to be a short work, but somehow it turned out to be 2 parts (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) 
> 
> Of course, there are several references to the anime - I always attempt to put references from the original work into my work. For another example of where I spammed references, check out my Kimi no Na Wa fanfiction, if you're interested! If you noticed any reference in Hotline Call, it was intentionally put there ; w ; 
> 
> I won't drag this note on for too long, so once again, I hope you guys enjoyed this!


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